Root veg in Advent

Although the evenings have drawn in and it's getting fairly cold, there is still a last bit if fun to be had at the allotment.

 

As shown in the trug, there were some handsome parsnips (Albion) to be had and a few beetroot.  The three ugly things in the middle were meant to be turnips, but were sadly rejected from our roast dinner for being too rubbish.  The parsnips and beetroot were roasted in the oven with the joint of beef and were just about perfect.  There should be a few more parsnips to see us through to Christmas dinner.

The rest of the plot is pretty much cleared and waiting for next year.  On the left of the path were the children's beds.  I have spent ages clearing them (mainly ripping out strawberry plants) and will grass it over next spring.  On the right of the path at the back are the remaining turnips.  On the right, just before the bare earth are the parsnips.

Right at the back on the right is the carpet I "found" at the dump.  It is keeping down weeds near the hawthorn.

Pine tree felled - time to get chopping

The pine tree at the plot has been dealt with.  All the annoying side branches have been taken away, the useful twigs have been grabbed for making Autumn/Winter grave decorations (!) and the main trunk has been sawn into DIN standard 30 cm lengths.

The real fun starts tomorrow when we get to chop it up into to stove ready chunks to dry.  Watch out for novice lumberjacks.

What's an allotment really worth?

After suggesting something along might be potentially possible back in 2008, the owners of our the land where we have our allotment have sent out letters offering the lease holders the chance to buy their plots.

Give that my allotment is 220 sqm, it is quick to see they are asking for:

1. 750.00 € for measuring the plot, 
2. 10.00€/sqm * 220 sqm = 2,200.00 € for the land, and
3. legal fees (around150.00 €)

giving a total cost of around 3,100.00 €.  The question is, is that a bargain, a rip-off or about right?  The allotment is in a scenic rural setting on a small hill with around 30 other allotments.  There is no running water and no electricity.  The soil is very fertile and the land definitely can not be built on.  I have worked hard to get the weeds out (to a certain extent), built a shed with a lovely schleppdach (roof extension) and even put in a small raised bed and started work on a brick cold frame. 

The current annual rent is 25.00 € so it might seem better to stay as a tenant for the next 124 years.  The problem lies in the text explaining that owners will sell allotments to people not renting already if the people renting don't want to buy.  So you have to buy the allotment or hang on as a tenant until somebody else buys it instead.

It's a interesting question.  What would you pay to own your allotment?

Impressive roots on Lady Di beans

Fresh back from the sun in Thailand and into blue sky and sunshine at home - just a bit colder.  The first frosts have hit and the dahlias have almost given up.  I collected one last lot today, but I guess they'll get cut back to the ground tomorrow ready for lifting and storing in the cellar over winter.

The Lady Di runner beans were great.  Not only did they provide a plentiful harvest (they were still flowering and fruiting up until today), but they also took the "Special Prize" at the EHS Summer Show (for which I won a pathetic blue door mat.  I blame the prize committee - I wanted the little hedge saw thing).

Half the pile of dug up bean plants resting on stupid prize door mat.

 The compost bin is full of frost zapped dahlia flowers and half of the ex-Lady Di's. The rest of the Lady Di's are piled up on the blue doormat outside the shed.  Maybe I'll burn them on November 5th.

Roots of one Lady Di runner bean plant next to car keys and goji berries for scale

When you look at the size of the roots on the runner beans its no wonder they were so prolific.  The soil is pretty soft at the moment, so the come out okay, but they look a bit lie docks or parsnips.  Can you eat runner bean roots?

Dahlias and goji berries

The dahlias are on top form.  I have to chop some down for home this weekend.

In the picture below you can see the goji berries.  To some people they taste disgusting, to others they taste of nothing at all.  At least they look nice.

EHS Summer Show - another huge success (ish).

The EHS Summer Show on Saturday was pretty good.  We had plenty of people taking part, a handful of visitors from England, a few children and two chickens (Rustika and Mustika).

The point of the Show was mainly the picnic and chit-chat, but there were prizes to be one.

Without going through all the tedious details, Richard S. did a bit too well winning four categories.  Simon B. got the best in show for his apples.  I failed to get best root vegetables for my beetroot (they should have one really but I think the judging panel got carried away with the sheer size of the winners).  I also failed to win anything with my dahlias but that's okay because I love them and we used them for the street party later in the evening.  Happily, I did win the EHS Special Prize (a blue doormat with printed flowers on!) for my Lady Di runner beans.  They are still going strong after nearly three months of fruiting.

Right now I am in Singapore, en route to Melbourne for the rest of the week.  The airport is beautiful and very well air-conditioned.  I don't fancy another long flight though.  Ah well, "Wat mut, dat mut" as they don't really say.

Red onions

In order to prepare some space for the winter chard, I took out the red onions last night.

There weren't that many but they look pretty healthy and mostly free of thripps.  The variety remains a mystery ... they came in a bag from the local supermarket for growing over winter.   I kept them in the shed and popped them in in April after a couple of weeks in the cold frame.